My Hobby and Interest - Research

Join me in the Scarborough main conference room on this week or on zoom: Tuesday Sept 29 and Sept 31, 8:00am-8:30am https://maine.zoom.us/j/4625543963 If you are joining in person in the main conf room in Scarborough, mats are available in the lobby closet. Come early to make yourself a space for practice.

 Science Magazine NIH details $170 million biomedical research reproducibility effort Agency director announces literature search tool, other plans to improve reliability of science findings by Jocelyn Kaiser The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has unveiled a new tool meant to help biomedical researchers search the scientific literature and learn whether a finding has been replicated by other groups. It’s among several efforts that NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya  discusses today in an editorial online  in  Science  to further one of his top priorities: bolstering reproducibility in biomedical research. The agency is also moving ahead with a reproducibility initiative that began as an ambitious draft proposal to replicate high-profile published findings. Bhattacharya’s boss, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had suggested during one of his Senate confirmation  hearings  that one-fifth of NIH’s $47.2 billion budget could be...

 

 NY Times White House backtracks on plan to exert new control over NIH grants The White House has backed away from a plan to issue an executive order that would subject billions of dollars in federal health and biomedical research spending to heightened political scrutiny, according to four people familiar with the situation. The proposed directive would have established a commission with the power to block government research grants if the money supported work in areas that did not align with President Trump’s political agenda. The plan was discussed in a White House meeting on Friday, and some on Capitol Hill had expected Mr. Trump to issue the order as soon as this week. But fierce opposition from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress forced the White House to recalibrate this week, according to some of the people familiar with the discussions, who described private conversations on the condition of anonymity. Nevertheless, they said, officials do not appear to have totally...

 NIH Building Thriving Research Groups LINK A new five-part virtual series building on the foundation of the Raising a Resilient Scientist Series (RRS) for faculty and staff who work with, supervise, and support research fellows. About the series The  Building Thriving Research Groups Series  is a five-part series designed for PIs, staff scientists, staff clinicians, and others who supervise or support fellows in research settings. Through practical frameworks, strategies, case discussions, and tools, participants will explore how to set clear expectations, understand and respond to fellows' needs, communicate and provide feedback effectively, navigate performance and conflict, and support well-being—for fellows, colleagues, and themselves. The series recognizes that creating a thriving research group is a shared responsibility. PIs may have overall responsibility for the group, while staff scientists, staff clinicians, and other experienced team members often play import...

NIH Becoming a Resilient Scientist (BRS) series LINK A five-part series including lectures and discussion groups to help you develop skills needed to thrive in research and healthcare careers. On this page About the series How to attend Additional resources About the series The Becoming a Resilient Scientist series provides tools to help you build resilience and thrive in high-knowledge environments. You will develop skills in well-being, assertiveness, and responding to feedback that can strengthen relationships within research groups and beyond. The series is designed for trainees and fellows at all levels, including those who supervise or mentor others and want to strengthen their mentoring skills. To learn more about the effectiveness of the series, read our publication,  Becoming a Resilient Scientist series: an intervention program . How to attend The series includes five sessions. Each session consists of a lecture followed by a facilitated small group discussion, where you ...

Support our Marathoners ************************************************** Liz Bergst (and her family) and Noni Guntur will participate in the Chicago Marathon in October 2026 If you’ve been out in the parking lot at 81 Research Drive at the end of the day lately, you might have seen Faculty Scientist Anyonya Guntur and RTE Manager Liz Bergst and a group of running friends heading out into the neighborhood for a training run. Liz and Noni are part of a training team that has run a number of races over the years, and right now they are gearing up for the biggest one yet- the Chicago Marathon coming up this October. It’s the first marathon for both Noni and Liz, and they are running it along with another teammate, and Liz’s husband and daughter. Noni is running for the Mitochondrial Foundation Charity Team ( https://fundraisers.hakuapp. com/anyonya-guntur )  and Liz, her husband, daughter, and other teammate are running for the Team World Vision, the world’s largest NGO provider of c...

  The Principled Investigator - September 21, 2026 Our posts focus almost exclusively on science and research topics and rarely on the larger political space. Last week, however, was the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Timothy Snyder posted a very informative Substack essay describing the larger historical events since 9/11 and linking them directly to the current administration. “The Trump phenomenon is unthinkable without 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq.” Although we would like to stay within our labs and areas of research, we cannot ignore that the attacks on research are just one part of many larger events. While it is important to fight for the future of research, it is also critical that we fight for the future of democracy and our country. This November it is critical that we all vote and get our friends and colleagues to do the same. This upcoming election is one of the most important in our lifetimes. The election alone will not fix everything but it is a necessary and...